We had cereal and beer at breakfast
and whiskey-laced coffee at noon.
We toured the flop houses on the
east side of the city
before settling into a dark, smelly bar
at the edge of dusk.
We talked of loose women
and of the shit-holes we’d lived in.
Occasionally we lapsed into quiet,
thoughtful pauses,
but overall, the talk was quick, easy
and didn’t burden either of us.
Each day was a photocopy of the previous one.
Just a different beer for breakfast
or a cleaner coffee cup at lunch.
We bitched about walking the highway,
but when we got a ride
we bitched about the driver more.
There were women,
not the kind you take home to mom,
not even the kind you remember their name.
It was all a quiet passage,
salted with erudite conversations
that took us out of the bars
and into the world beyond.
In some suburb of some city
he met up with a woman he’d known
from the days of his youth.
She was a trashy-loookin’ type
with red hair and too much eye shadow,
but she liked him a lot.
She bought us drinks at an old blues bar
and talked of setting me up with a friend.
Eight drinks down
he grumbled something about taking a piss
and left us alone at the table.
He never came back.
His absence hung in the air like stale cigarette smoke.
And I had to find my way home on my own.
Author notes
No Rules Contest entry. I've been wanting to write something about Bukowski so this gave me a chance to try.
A contest entry
- You Choose - No Rules by Dalaney.
1200 points, ended December 6, 2008, 23 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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I actually read this thinking, "wow...how cool that he actually knew Bukowski!"
You certainly caught the essence of his work. Loved that last line.
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Oh, what a great ending! I just loved the entire
piece, but the ending was so.....Bukowski! lol You
did a fine poem for this contest. Thank you so
much. Love, Lane -
this is great, I love it. Good luck in the contest.
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I'm visiting all the "other" travelling-with-bukowski poems. This is good!
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This could so easily be a real, first-hand account of hanging out with CB, especially the ending. Can't miss the influence, either. Great stuff.
Mark
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